REVIEW: Preacher – “Call and Response”

The following is a spoiler review of the tenth episode of ‘Preacher’, available on AMC in the United States and on Viaplay in Denmark.

In the season finale of the first season of Preacher (“Call and Response”), Jesse (played by Dominic Cooper) calls God, Tulip (played by Ruth Negga) presents Carlos to Jesse, Cassidy (played by Joseph Gilgun) gets tortured, and the inhabitants of Annville finally get some answers.

Okay, first things first. The short, but sweet, episode opener was a lot of fun. It started the countdown, and we saw Jesse run down the street while being chased by the police. It was perfectly in line with the episode and the first season as a whole. Run, Preacher. Run!

There were a couple of pretty cool scenes leading up to the ‘response from above’. Albeit somewhat sudden, the torture-scene with Cassidy and the Sheriff was pretty cool, and I liked the flashback to back when a jealous Carlos took advantage of Tulip and Jesse.

But there were some parts that really didn’t work for me. The idea that Donnie suddenly would flip-flop without Genesis being used on him is too unbelievable (almost as unbelievable as Emily sacrificing Miles in Finish the Song). Also, I didn’t like how Tulip suddenly didn’t want Jesse to kill Carlos after all. Look, I get that she wanted Jesse to care again, but it felt like a flip-flop.

“Look upon me. I am the alpha and the omega, and the bright morning star. I am the Lord, your God. My children. Why have you called me?”

Okay, let’s just get to Fake-God. His look did feel way too convenient, but this is Preacher – you never really know what to expect. I loved that entire scene. It was silly and suspenseful at the same time, and I thought it was really fun to see the people of Annville scream questions at Fake-God.

“The plan is simple: find God.”

Let’s get to my two biggest problems with this episode. Firstly, why the hell didn’t we get anything important from the Seraphim or the Cowboy? Sure, the Cowboy shot down the Seraphim, but that doesn’t really matter does it? The Cowboy had no real impact after being set up as this dangerous preacher-killer last week.

Lastly, doesn’t a lot of what we saw this season just feel wasted now? Annville blew up. The inhabitants are dead and gone. All we have now, are our three protagonists on the run and ‘Fake-Eugene’. Why did we spend all this time with all these people if they are just dead and gone now? This season now feels like an insane, lengthy prologue. Still, Preacher is bat-shit crazy, and that is the best thing about the show. So, bye Annville!